I wanted to reach into the rib cage of space and time and pull out not one but two beating hearts. One in each hand. And I’ve never wanted anything like that before.
A world premiere, Ear to the Edge of Time is the product of an extraordinary odyssey of discovery and exploration for one of Australia’s great contemporary playwrights, Alana Valentine.
Inspired by true events and interviews with astrophysicists and astronomers all over the world, Valentine has written a captivating drama about a young radio astronomer who makes a universe-shifting discovery, only for her work to be taken over by her older, male, supervisor. As she wrestles with her frustration and the potential consequences of speaking out, the decision about whether to go public is taken out of her hands when a poet publishes a contentious verse about her work. Even to the least scientific, the physics in the play is accessible, fascinating and provocative, opening a window into the world of space and time as a metaphor for the relationship of art and science.